


Hack My Way Into Your Heart

by CallMeCleo



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: But it's a secret, Hydra wants Peter, Intern Peter Parker, Peter Parker Without Powers, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, This is a lot of Tags, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, civil war already happened, eventual death of may parker, hacker peter parker, i hope this is a good story, not for a while though, sickly peter parker, spiderman is peter's hacker name, the parker's deaths were a cover up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2020-11-28 12:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20966645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallMeCleo/pseuds/CallMeCleo
Summary: Peter Parker is a hacker, the best there is. When his identity is discovered by one Tony Stark, he thinks his budding career is over... Until he's offered a secret Avengers internship with said billionaire, learning from the best.Can Tony Stark, still healing from the loss of half of his team during the ill-fated civil war protect him from those who would kill (literally) for someone of Peter's talent? And what happens when he becomes all the kid has left?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea that has popped into my head and refused to leave. Bit of background, Spiderman is Peter's hacker name, he doesn't have powers, civil war has already happened. Feel free let me know what you guys think!

The day Peter found Tony Stark sitting in his living room, talking to his Aunt May was the day that would go down in his list of days that would live in infamy. He’d had a really nice day at school that day, thanks to his bully Flash being out with the flu, and his asthma had barely flared up at all. And to make it even better, the dumpster down the street had a perfectly running bluetooth keyboard just sitting there. 

Seeing the dark-haired man had been enough to cause him to pause and adjust his glasses higher up on his nose in shock. “Hey May…” He said, shooting her a questioning look.

“Peter! Why didn’t you tell me about the internship program you signed up for?” She called back, the biggest smile on her face. 

Peter’s eyes shot to Mr. Stark, who gave him a look that said go along with it. So he did. Because it was Tony-freakin-Stark. “Uh, yeah, well…”He stuttered, “I wasn’t sure if I’d get it…”

“Well, kiddo, you did!” Stark claimed, standing up and shaking the bespeckled boys hand. “Mind if we have a little chat? So we can talk about… Official, uh, intern business?”

“Oh, uh yeah,” Peter shifted the keyboard in his arms as he led the billionaire to his room. He was struck suddenly with a panic. ‘What did Tony Stark want with me? What internship? And did I put away my dirty laundry?’ Were all thoughts racing through his head as the man behind him took in the messy but organized little bedroom. 

His bed had been pushed against the wall next to the window, and the majority of the space was taken up by the desk and dresser, the surfaces of which were covered with scattered computer parts, routers, and screens that were clearly second hand. The wall above the dresser had a shelf with multiple pill bottles, as well as an extra inhaler, and emergency glasses.

Tony watched as the kid self consciously cleared away the few dirty clothes off of the floor, mumbling about not being prepared for guests as he did so. It didn’t seem like the room of a normal teenage boy, and with the research he had done into him, he knew that the steadily panicking 15-year-old was anything but.

“So, uh,” Peter began, trying to lean against the wall next to his bed, in an attempt to look cool, “what internship am I being offered? Does it include like… money?”

Tony grabbed the desk chair and lowered himself down into it, completely unprepared for it to sink closer to the floor. He ignored it, and decided he was just going to cut to the chase with this meeting. “It’s not necessarily a traditional internship,” He answered, watching the kid for any breaks in his facade. “Hell, given what I know, it’s the easiest option for you, especially considering the other is jail time.”

Just like that, the kid’s face turned a whole two shades redder, and he pulled his inhaler out as a sudden coughing fit hit. 

“Jail time?” He asked, his voice breaking as he caught his breath. “What do you mean?”

“I know your secret, kid.”

“What secret?”

Tony rolled his eyes as the kid began watching him more closely, and leaned back in the chair. Denial was always to be expected, but it was annoying. 

“The hack on my company last month. It didn’t release anything too confidential, just some passwords that were easily fixed. But the hack on Oscorp last week” he whistled, “That was a serious blow to them. Who knew they were experimenting on monkeys,”

“Chimps,” Peter mumbled.

“What was that?”

“They were experimenting on chimpanzees. Are you trying to insinuate that I did those hacks? ‘Cause believe me, I wouldn’t do something like that,” Peter pushed his glasses back up his nose, annoyed that they would choose this moment of all moments to attempt to journey off his face.

“I traced the signal back to a hacker named Spiderman, and was able to find the main network used to hack. Spiderman is in this apartment building, and more specifically, this floor. I don’t think Ms. Guswick and her three cats down the hall are the ones exposing Oscorp’s dirtiest secrets.”

Peter sat down on his bed as he realized that the cover he had so carefully created for himself had been blown. “Who else knows?”

“Right now, just me,” Tony answered. “But if you want to continue your online vigilante agenda, you’re going to need a non-traceable network, and more. Besides, you’re useful, the Avengers could use someone with your talent.”

“The Avengers? You want me to join the Avengers? I have school!” He exclaimed, the meager excuse sounding dumb to his, and no doubt Mr. Stark’s ears too. Joining the Avengers was every kid's dream, and he wasn’t entirely sure why he didn’t want to. Something about the idea made him feel sick.

“Not joining the Avengers, kid. Just helping. You’re not old enough to join, anyway,” Tony ignored the relieved look on the kids face, and continued. “You’ve got talent kid. Enough to catch my eye, and that’s saying something. Without help, that talent will either get you arrested, or it could get you nowhere. Or worse, you could become a target. I could help you keep that from happening."

"It sounds like I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Of course you do. You could quit doing your hacking and pretend I didn't offer anything you wanted, or you could work for me, and learn from the best of the best. Either way, you attempt another Oscorp, I'm not covering your traces," The billionaire pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to him. "My personal number, in case you decide to take up my offer. Don't go giving it out, though."

Peter sat staring at the card for a long time after Stark left. His Aunt had decided to take them out for a celebratory dinner, and while he had enjoyed his food, the dilemma of what to do kept making him nervous.

It was a decision he couldn't take lightly. If he refused the internship, then he could kiss Spiderman goodbye. But if he said yes, then despite Stark's words, he knew that he'd belong to the Avengers. The television behind Aunt May’s head caught his attention just then, the news was reporting about the hack on Oscorp, and how despite the legality of how the hacker Spiderman had found the information, he was still being praised as a hero by those who had suffered from the medical studies and experiments of the company. 

Seeing the words ‘Spiderman, A Hero?’ really made him feel good inside. It was the same feeling he knew Mr. Stark and all of the other Avengers must feel every time something they do helps people. 

Later that night, when the apartment was dark and quiet, Peter sent a simple text to the number on the card.

‘I’m in.’


	2. Chapter 2

The locker right next to the fire extinguisher in the south hallway was one of the most well-known lockers at Midtown High, and for good reason, too. Flash Thompson, son of a rich business owner, and the most popular kid at school could often be found there, combing his hair and practicing a smirk many girls found annoyingly charming. It was the locker directly across from that one that Flash could be found the next morning, tormenting the skinny, bespeckled ‘nerd’ known as Peter Parker.

Peter and Flash at one point were very close friends. It was when Peter’s parents had died, and left him in the care of his aunt and uncle that their relationship turned rocky. One of the few things the two seven-year-olds had had in common was money. Peter’s parents had been brilliant geneticists, which resulted in a very large paycheck, and a very different social circle.

Flash was very short and scrawny, and Peter, plagued by his many health problems, was in the same boat. They took comfort in being the shortest of the class, and having more toys than really needed. But then Peter moved to a public school, and his house turned into a cramped apartment.

Flash had turned his nose up at the second-hand furniture and television with a box, and promptly refused to hangout with a kid who was poor. 

Then middle school rolled around, and Flash was no longer the scrawny kid, and Peter was the scholarship kid. It seemed almost logical that the relationship would shift from there. 

"Mr. Thompson, I suggest you leave Mr. Parker be and head to class," A teacher called, walking past the two teenagers on her way to her own class.

“See you around, four-eyes,” Flash said, pushing him into the locker one last time before heading for his first hour, which, blessedly, he didn’t share with Peter. 

Peter picked himself back up, grabbing his glasses from the floor and his backpack from the trash as he got himself ready to head to his own first class of the day. Being the ‘scholarship’ kid meant a lot of the kids he went to school with now were not the kids he knew before 6th grade. So many of them just ignored him, and he did the same, choosing to read and study rather than socialize.

It made May a bit sad that he didn’t have any friends, but he didn’t really mind it, especially given the reaction Flash had to his new living situation. If that was how a rich kid reacted, then he didn’t want to associate with them.

And then he met Ned Leeds. The boy wasn’t a scholarship kid like Peter was, but in all honesty, he should be. His parents made just enough extra money to pay the bills and send him to Midtown, with little leeway in their budget. He was also an extreme nerd, nearly as much as Peter, and so, after Flash tormented Ned for not having much money either, it was the start of not only their relationship as two of the bully’s victims, but also as friends. It only sucked that that day, the day Peter had an extremely important secret to tell his only friend, Ned was sick with the stomach flu, and unable to hear it.

But that was fine with Peter, he had an unopened box of Star Wars lego memorabilia in his locker, and a plan to take the subway straight to his house once school ended, potential spread of illness be damned. Because he was going to start working with Tony Stark. And if anyone deserved to know his secret, it was his best friend.  
-  
The school day dragged on without Ned there to keep him company. He found himself alone at their usual lunch table, or, as alone as one could be with MJ ignoring everybody within a ten-foot radius. But he didn’t mind her presence that day, she was, at least, a companion during the hustle of the lunch hour, and it kept Flash at bay, seeing as how she was the captain of the decathlon team, and it wouldn’t look good for a member to bully another in front of her. That is if she even noticed. Her nose was always stuck in a book.

Finally, though, the final bell rang, and Peter found himself gloriously free to walk as fast as possible without causing an asthma attack straight to the closest subway. Two trains and three short delays later found one red-faced hacker and one sick Ned sitting on the floor of his room, assembling a model X-wing each.

It was after updating him on the latest drama he’d missed at school that Peter finally decided to break the news. “So, you remember when that huge hack on Oscorp was on the news?”

“Bro, of course. It was insane. I don’t think they’re going to bounce back from that,” Ned answered. “I wonder how Spiderman managed it.”

“You could always ask him,” He replied, knowing a full-blown freak out was seconds away, once his friend put two and two together.

“Yeah right, like I could figure out who Spiderman is.” Ned attached the remaining piece of lego to his ship, holding it up to show Peter. He was shocked to see that not only had Peter not even begun working on his set, but he was looking at him with a face he knew very well.

It was the face Peter pulled every time he had a difficult secret to tell. 

Ned was confused for a moment, wondering why his friend would reveal such a secret while they were talking about the Oscorp fiasco. Then it hit him. ‘Is he Spiderman?’ 

“You wouldn’t happen to know who the hacker is, would you?” And just like that, Peter’s face changed again, and Ned knew the answer to both of his questions. “No way, are you Spiderman?”

“You have to promise not to tell anyone, no matter what,” Was the brunette's response, causing Ned to gasp and mumble something that suspiciously sounded like ‘I have the awesomest hacker as a friend’. “I mean it, I could become a target if word gets out,”

“I swear, man. I won’t tell a soul,” His friend replied, voice suddenly serious. After he was sure Ned meant it, he continued to tell the best part.

“I also maybe have a secret Avenger internship with Tony Stark…”

If the news that he was Spiderman was enough to put his friend into shock, it was the details about his internship that caused him to nearly pass out. “No freaking way…”

They spent the rest of the afternoon freaking out about how the Tony Stark, the richest man in the world, had been in Peter’s apartment, and how he was a lot more serious in real life. It was just getting to be shortly after 7pm that Peter had to say goodbye and take the subway home. 

Walking out of Ned’s apartment building, he was surprised to see a very fancy black car parked in front of the sidewalk, a stout man in a suit leaning against it. “You Peter Parker?” The man asked, and Peter eyed him warily.

“Maybe… Who are you?” He replied, phone in hand, and feet angled to run back into the building if need be. 

“Happy Hogan, I work with Mr. Stark. He sent me to make sure you got home safe,”

“Did he? Why would he do that?” 

The man, Happy, pulled an ID from his pocket and showed him, the badge had his name, picture, and title of head of security plain for anyone to see. “He said that now that you’re his new intern, he has a responsibility to ensure nothing happens to you. Our interns tend to get kidnapped on occasion,”

Peter laughed at the last bit, expecting it to be a joke. When the serious expression on Happy’s face did not change, he realized the man was not, in fact, joking. “Oh, um okay,” He replied, walking closer to the vehicle. “Do you like, need my address, or anything?”

“Nope, hop on in,” Happy opened the door for him, and Peter carefully stepped in, admiring the leather interior and plush seats. Unlocking his phone, the teen quickly found himself looking at the many different employee profiles for Stark industries, and was very relieved to see the man listed as one of Tony’s most trusted.

The drive back to his apartment was very quiet, and Peter nearly found himself falling asleep. He sat up straighter as he realized they were now at his apartment. “See ya around kid, stay out of trouble!” Happy called, and Peter waved, giving his thanks for the ride.

Peter went to bed that night thinking about how his life was going to change the moment he officially began his internship. He just hoped that it would be for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, just wanted to let you know, this is my first story on this site, so I'm still learning how this works.  
I'm also a full-time college student with a desk job, so my updates may be a bit sporadic. Luckily my job allows for a good amount of free time, so I'll try and keep to a somewhat concise schedule, maybe every Tuesday and Thursday. 
> 
> Thanks for all of your nice comments on my first chapter, it really made my day to see how you guys liked my story. I have big plans for how this will turn out, so it's good to know there's already a fan base, lol. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
Cleo


	3. Chapter 3

The days were slowly counting down to his first official day as an intern, and the anxiety was steadily eating at him. What would happen? Who would he meet? It wasn’t necessarily a traditional internship, and which in turn made preparing for it even more nerve-wracking. It also didn’t help that Aunt May was constantly giving him all the advice she herself received when starting her first college internship, no matter the time of day.

It lead to many awkward phone calls while she was at work, and he attempting to finish homework, or worse, the time he was in the shower, and had to stick his head out awkwardly while the water sprayed his legs. It took her a solid two and a half minutes to realize he was in the middle of something and promise to call back later.

While all of the advice being thrown at him at all times of the day was a bit annoying, it was good to know that May cared enough to give him as much as she could. He could tell that having this internship was a weight off her shoulders, because surely if Tony Stark, the richest man in the entire world, was interested in continuing Peter’s education, then surely any college out there would be willing to offer any tuition the kid asked.

Peter didn’t have it in his heart to tell her the true reason behind his internship, and he even made that one of his stipulations for agreeing, that Aunt May wouldn’t know unless he told her himself. Keeping it a secret felt like he was lying to her in the worst way, but it was for the best. 

Soon, word got out around school about his internship, due to Peter dropping chess club and marching band with a fancy envelope excusing him. It was all his classmates could talk about, and many, mostly Flash were strong believers that he was faking the entire thing. Why the scrawny, bespeckled 15 year old would even bother with faking it was out the bully’s reasoning, but he found quizzing the nerd at every available moment about his obviously fake internship to be the best way to find the truth.

Then, that Friday afternoon, standing outside of the school in front of a sleek fancy black car was none other than Happy Hogan himself. He wore the same suit and sunglasses as when he took Peter home from Ned’s, and it obviously impressed at least a few people.

Flash merely scoffed. “He obviously just hired a chauffeur,” He mumbled. The logic of how the scholarship kid having enough money to get a personal driver escaping him.

Peter merely turned a bright shade of red, and waved goodbye to Ned. He exchanged a short greeting with Happy, and then they were pulling out of the pick-up zone and heading further into the city. The drive was quiet, which the usually talkative teenager didn’t mind. He got the impression that Happy wasn’t really a people-person, though he was willing to bet money that it was all a front to make him seem tough.

Peter’s phone buzzed with a message from May, who loved adding too many emojis than necessary. It made him smile, and he left the car feeling a lot lighter than he did at school. He could do this. Happy led them from the parking garage to an elevator. He flashed his badge under a scanner, and the doors closed. 

The burly bodyguard slapped his pocket, causing Peter to jump as he took another badge from his pocket and handed it to the teenager. “This is your ID badge, don’t lose it. This is the only thing that will allow you access until you get added to the system, and you’ll still need it for some of the things outside of our AI’s control. Keep it with you at all times, I won’t hesitate to kick you out if you don’t have it,” 

Peter nodded, slipping the lanyard around his neck. The card was a simple white, with the Stark Industries logo printed in shiny foil above a copy of his school ID picture, and a barcode beneath his name. There was something very official about being given a lanyard and ID. Like there was no going back.

“Thanks,” he replied, turning back to the doors as they continued to go up. Peter never thought he’d see the inside of Stark Tower, the former home of the now broken up Avengers. Ned and May had scoffed at the idea of the Avengers breaking up over something that seemed so trivial to the normal person. Peter may or may not have read the actual Sokovia Accords by hacking into the file on Senator Ross’ work computer. He understood why both sides reacted the way they did, it was a mess of different conflicting rules all squeezed into two-hundred pages.

There was definitely a good reason not to sign it, and that was because it wasn’t complete.

Happy led him through what appeared to be a living room and kitchen, and down a short set of stairs until he found himself facing an entire wall of glass. He could faintly hear muffled music, and the room was very dim, he could barely make out anything. Happy reached over and tapped on the glass, it the glass went from tinted dark to clear the second he touched it, giving Peter his first real look of the room beyond.

The room was clearly a workshop, there were tools and so sheets of metal, and wires scattered all around, and quite a few worktables. Much like his bedroom, the workshop was cluttered, yet also very neat. Mr. Stark was bent over a worktable, a tangle of wires in one hand, and sautering iron in the other.

He looked up at the knock, a pair of safety goggles on his head, yet not over his eyes. He says something, and the music stops, and the door unlocks itself. Happy waved Peter in, then walked back out the way they came, his job done. 

“Hey, kid,” The billionaire called, carefully putting his tools back on the table, and taking his gloves off. “I see Happy has given you your ID,”

Peter glanced down at the lanyard on his neck. “Uh, yeah, he did,” Peter replied. Mr. Stark gestured to the empty chair across from him at the work table, the space cleared of any tools.

“So, I figured this could kinda be like a test, see where you’re at. I noticed all of those computers and stuff, so, show me whatchu got,”

Peter’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “But sir, I thought this was so I can work on my hacking, not building stuff…”

Tony waved his hands, “Yeah, we’ll get to that,”

The teen pushed his glasses up his nose and reached for some tools beside him. This was not how he figured his internship would go, but if Tony Stark wanted to know how good he was at technology, then he’d show him how good he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than usual, sorry about that!   
Thank you for reading, this is where the story starts to pick up, lol!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my absence on Thursday, it was Midterms, and my father had to have surgery on his back, so I wasn't able to work on this story. 
> 
> Hopefully I can update again within the next few days. I have a lot of ideas and plans for this story

After their first interning session, the routine became very comfortable. The kid would come over every Friday, and sometimes on Mondays if he didn’t have too much homework, and if his aunt was working. Tony could understand her desire to have him not be alone in an empty apartment, and had gladly moved his schedule around when she requested he move the day to Monday because of her new job.

A job he may or may not have had something to do with. 

Tony knew he probably shouldn’t have meddled, they were doing somewhat decent with the money May made from the clinic she used to work at. But he just couldn’t help it, she was a nice person, dammit. May deserved a lot more in life, as did Peter. And if that included getting an offer from a very nice hospital that paid very well, then so be it. 

The Monday after she was offered the new job Peter had come in smiling. He talked about how nice the hospital was, and how close it was to their apartment compared to the clinic, and how the insurance package would probably cover most of his medications. The kid was ecstatic, and it made Tony happy too. 

The two of them had soon fallen into a rhythm. Iron Man wasn’t ever called in, the Sokovia accords restricting him from trying, so the amount of free time he had had doubled. It wasn’t all bad, though, he had more time to spend with Pepper, and Peter was actually kind of fun to have around. They would work in the workshop, fixing broken stuff from around the tower, or upgrading his older Iron Man suits. Every other week he would challenge the kid to hack into a secure network he had set up himself.

Sometimes they would order pizza and watch some TV after, if they had extra time. Which was what they were doing at that exact moment. Peter was trying to simultaneously explain the complexities of the plot that made Star Wars so great while also attempting to shove as much pizza into his mouth as possible. “Kid, you’re gonna choke,” Tony laughed, tossing him a napkin as he sipped his soda. A laugh track sounded from the sitcom they were watching, bringing his attention back to the screen.

“But Mr. Stark, Star Wars is the best!” Peter exclaimed back, “To not talk about how awesome it is is like asking me not to breathe!” Tony chuckled, rolling his eyes as the laugh track went off again.

The show was mostly there for background noise as the two of them talked, Tony about the latest drama with the accords, and Peter about his friends, and school. The kid liked to talk a lot once he warmed up to you, something Happy liked to pretend got on his nerves. It was hard not to like the dorky kid, he brought a lighter tone to most conversations, Tony was glad for it. He’d been in a bit of a dark place after the airport incident, it was almost as if Peter had shown up at the perfect time to bring him out of it.

Not that he’d let the kid know about that, he knew too much as it was. He was always getting into stuff he probably shouldn’t, hacking into one thing or the other because he wanted to know what was so important as to have a firewall. It was simple curiosity, the same kind that Tony himself had when he was Peter’s age. He knew it wasn’t really his place to tell him to stop, hacking was what he did, and as long as he didn’t take down whole systems in a fit of vigilante justice like he did with Oscorp and the others before that, he wouldn’t be in too much danger.

Hydra still had some chatter, here or there. They hadn’t been able to bust any more underground operations since before the split, and now they were running somewhat unchecked. He knew that Steve and the others in Wakanda were working to take some down, and he fully supported them in their endeavors, even sent an encoded email through F.R.I.D.A.Y. to T’Challa with the coordinates of the bases he’d known to be active sometime in the recent past. 

He just couldn’t get involved, not yet.

“Mr. Stark, you think next week we could try and hack the Pentagon?” The kid asked suddenly, jarring Tony from his thoughts.

“What?”

“The Pentagon. I’ve done it before, but I was almost caught…” Peter replied, wringing his hands as he realized what he was admitting to. “I was trying to find information on my parents, they worked on some secret project for the government,”

Tony thought for a moment. The Pentagon wasn’t necessarily easy, not unless you’d done it before, which Tony had done plenty of times. He could understand the desire to learn more about his parents, Tony had done the same after they had died.

“Yeah, I guess. I might know a way into the system…” Tony chuckled, ignoring the way Peter’s eyes lit up and taking another sip his drink. This kid would be the death of him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School has been rough my friends. Might be a hot minute before my next update, I have a book report and a speech all due around the same time, and it's killing me, lol.
> 
> Enjoy!

Happy Hogan was known for being paranoid. It was his job to protect people, and while at times his paranoia got the better of him, there was hardly an example when it was incorrect. He could just tell, sometimes, when a person or situation was sketchy. It got both him and his boss out of a lot of potential problems.

And so, with his sketchy-sense on red-alert mode, he found himself outside of the intern’s high school, a totally inconspicuous black van in his sights. When he’d told Peter that first day that the Stark interns tend to get kidnapped, he wasn’t kidding. It was one of the main reasons why they only took applications from those who were above eighteen, and made them sign all eleven waivers. Perhaps most surprisingly, the majority of the interns who were targeted at one time or another usually chose to take full-time jobs with SI, giving them more of a target, but also better benefits. 

Happy had been very surprised when he was told that Tony was taking a personal intern who was still in high school, genius status be damned. But the kid was actually not bad, he tended to try and talk his ear off now that he realized he could.

But of course, his young age made him even more of a target, everyone’s bound to risk more for a fifteen-year-old than a twenty-something. Happy’d first noticed the van when he’d picked the kid up for a Monday intern session, and ever since he’d found it in more and more locations. Around Stark Tower, hanging by the school, and even close to the hospital where the kid’s aunt worked.

The van didn’t have any decals or paint, nothing that would prove if it was a work van, or belonged to some company. That made Happy’s job harder, especially when he used FRIDAY to scan the license plate and it came back negative. Which meant a lot of things. Most importantly, it meant that the van was suspicious.

He kept his eyes trained on the van as the bell rang, and students began pooling out. He usually didn’t drive the kid on Wednesdays, they’d fallen into the rhythm of giving/receiving rides on intern days and times when the weather was bad. His asthma and other conditions made walking to the subways a bit too much of a risk to his health. He spotted Peter right away, walking with his friend Ned. 

The two met eyes, and Peter said goodbye to his friend. Happy waited until the car door was shut before explaining. “Tony wanted me to keep an eye on you for the next couple of days,” He began, interrupting the kid’s attempt to ask why. “It’s nothing serious, just something suspicious.”

He placed the car in drive and began the tedious business that was driving anywhere in New York traffic. “If it’s not serious, then can’t you tell me?” Peter asked, leaning forward in his seat so as to hear the grumpy man’s answer.

“No, and put your seatbelt on.”

The teen sat back, a scowl on his face as he did what he was told. He pushed his glasses back up on his nose, and eyed what appeared to be a wrapped package in the passenger's seat. “What’s that?” He pointed, drawing Happy’s attention to it.

“Oh yeah, a gift from the boss,”

“Gift?”

He tossed it to the kid, who opened it with what could only be described as suspicious curiosity. His expression changed between awe and guilt as he took the expensive silver watch from the box. It had the latest in Stark Tech, as well as features like a tracking system, a version of F.R.I.D.A.Y., and even a holograph projector. All things Happy thought completely unnecessary, but it was Tony’s gift, he could design it however he thought best for the kid.

Happy watched as Peter read the little note inside, and then fix it to his wrist. They spent the last few minutes of the drive in silence as the teen messed with the different features, and the driver thought on the different ways he’d need to keep an eye on that suspicious van. He pulled the car next to the curb outside of the apartment building and turned to look back at the kid. “Don’t be afraid to call me or Tony if anything happens, or you see something suspicious, alright?”

Peter pushed his glasses up on his nose and nodded, his brown eyes suddenly very serious. He thanked Happy for the ride and slid out of his seat, dragging his backpack up onto his back as he walked into his apartment building. 

The Parkers lived on the eleventh floor, their apartment one of the only ones on said floor that didn’t leak. It gave them a good view of the skyline, and plenty of natural lighting, the downside being that Peter had to take the ancient elevator up and down. It had been installed when the building was first built, all the way back in the ’60s, and had never been replaced or worked on. 

The teen didn’t really have a choice about it, his asthma had decided to get worse as he’d gotten older, making the once possible climb no longer a reality. He pressed the button to call the elevator, and waited as it took its time getting down to the lobby, squeaking and groaning as it did so. The watch felt heavy on his wrist as the doors opened up and he stepped inside. 

The ride up was even worse than waiting for it to come to him. The little box smelled like burnt rubber, motor oil, and, surprisingly, like pizza. It was a combination that always made him cough, yet also hungry. He pressed one of the buttons on the side of the watch, which created a little holographic display. It showed the menu, where he could access whatever he needed, like activate the tracker, send an emergency pulse to Mr.Stark or Happy’s phones, play music, and even text.

The elevator came to a stop at his floor, and he was out the doors before they even finished sliding open. He took the apartment key out his pocket, and made his way down the hall. Happy said to call if he saw something suspicious, and he gave him a ride home, something that automatically made him worry that something might happen.

What if he was potentially a target of a kidnapping? What if someone tried to use him to hurt Mr. Stark? The grumpy bodyguard had said that the interns get kidnapped a lot. Peter suddenly didn’t want to open the door to his apartment. He slid the key into the lock as quietly as he could, and pushed the door open as if he was in a horror movie.

The apartment was empty, and now Peter felt dumb. He swung the door closed, and flopped onto the couch, feeling very lonely in the empty apartment. It wasn’t very big, but by himself, it felt massive. Sighing, he grabbed his backpack from the floor and dug his homework out, he didn’t usually start working on it until much later, but it would be a while before May got off work, and he wanted to spend as much time as he could with her before he had to go to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so sorry for my absence, College has me stressed, and I had some stuff I had to deal with. However, I've picked this back up, and plan on having a moderately on time updating schedule. 
> 
> This chapter is where the plot really picks up, so I hope you enjoy!

It was really rare for Tony to find something he couldn’t crack. Really, he was the best at almost anything, and that was him being modest. He’d been sitting in his lab for the past couple of hours, his fingers occasionally tapping on the keyboard in his lap. It was irritating, that he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

Ever since Peter mentioned his parents, and their work with the government, he’d been intrigued. His digging into the kids background hadn’t led to any secret projects. As far as he could find, they had been contracted as geneticists for some company looking into the cure for cancer, asthma, and heart disease, amongst a random assortment of other ailments. 

The biggest obstacle was the fact that the company listed didn't exist. It was a complete dead end, which meant that they were probably involved with something shady. He thought of Peter, the teen had such a strong sense of justice, he wanted to fix the world, so very much like he did, it would probably hurt him to find out what he'd already dug out about the Parker's…

"Friday, place these under the same file," he said, swiping the information away as the A.I. tucked it away. 

Tony couldn't deny how similar he and Peter were, their intellects were near identical, their feelings of righteousness, however, Tony had grown bitter with time, and from his relationship with his father. The kid wasn’t bitter yet, and he hoped to keep him that way. 

The Parkers were indeed involved with something shady. Tony hadn’t quite had the chance to look through everything he’d found, he would break it all down when he had more time, but from what he had seen, Mary and Richard were experimenting with using animal DNA to evolve and alter human development. It was dangerous stuff, his experience with Aldrich Killian showed him that.

He found the files for their research, not locked away in the Pentagon, but in the Hydra database he had hacked, downloaded, and then deleted a couple of months ago. He pulled up another file, this one including photos, and Tony felt sick upon seeing the baby. It was under the file for experiment number two, using wolf DNA to heighten sense of smell, and sight. The child was horribly deformed, it’s body covered in patches of fur, and it’s legs and face a strange combination of canine and human. A little bit of reading revealed the experiment to have been stillborn. 

The images and paragraphs he’d seen and read through were a major shock to his system, Peter was probably the sweetest kid anyone could ever meet, and his parents were responsible for such horrible experiments. As far as he could tell, the couple weren’t involved with Hydra as it was known, but instead one of it’s child companies, set up to recruit, and trick normal people into aiding in their twisted agenda. 

“Sir, Mr. Parker and Mr, Hogan have arrived,” Friday announced, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Fri, locked up these files. Security level 11.”

“Already done, sir.”

Tony sat up, taking his feet off the table, and setting the keyboard where it usually went. Peter came in a few moments later, his eyes bright as he began telling him about whatever it was he had done that day. 

Tony forced himself to listen, and put the information he’d found out of his mind. It would crush him to find out his parents weren’t the doctors he thought they were. “Did you hear about what was released about Oscorp?” Peter asked him, waiting until the man showed interest before talking his ear off once again.

If the kid noticed that Tony was a bit more quiet that night than usual, he didn’t show it, though, it seemed he was more than happy to speak for the both of them.

~~~

Two days later found the man sitting in the Parker’s livingroom, with May Parker (who was much more comfortable around the billionaire now that she had actually gotten to know him). They were both drinking coffee while May told him all about the new job she’d been offered. 

After catching up, Tony cleared his throat, and placed the box he’d had in his jacket pocket in front of her. “I gave one to Peter, as well. It has an emergency beacon, and locator, in case something happens,” He explained, as she opened the box and examined the silver watch inside.

“I was wondering where he’d gotten that watch,” She laughed, “Thank you.”

“Happy noticed a strange van showing up where it’s not supposed to be. He’s got his eyes on it, so there’s probably no reason to really panic, but if you notice anything, this button will alert us.”

They talked for a couple minutes more, before he finally worked up the courage to ask her what he’d been stewing over the whole weekend. “May, what do you know about where Peter’s parents worked? What they did?”

The woman’s eyebrows drew together as she thought. “Not much, I never really got to know them. Ben and I had only been married for a year when they died, and they lived on the other side of the city. They were kind of private about their work, I don’t think even Ben knew exactly what they did.”

“I found some…. Interesting files, some information about what they did,” He rubbed his hand on his neck as he tried to figure out a good way to explain it.  
“I take it they weren’t actually involved with the government?” She asked. She could see from the look in his eyes that she was right. “Well, what did they do? Surely it wasn’t so bad?”

Tony used his watch to pull up some of the documents he’d brought with him. She looked through them clumsily, her hands not familiar with the holographs. She gasped loudly upon seeing the pictures of experiment two, as well as the others. The later experiments were more human looking than the first two (at least he assumed, as he couldn’t find any pictures for the first one, only the description, and reasons for it’s failure), but they were all deformed in some way. 

“Oh my god….”

“I wanted your opinion on whether or not we should tell Peter. I was originally against it, but then I thought about the amount of stuff I didn’t know about my own father, and I realized it wasn’t really my place to keep it from him,”

May glanced at the wolf baby again, before clearing her throat, and placing her now cold coffee on the table beside her. “I think it’d be best if he didn’t know… For now,” She said, her voice quiet. “This would crush him, he idolizes his parents so much,”

“Alright,” Tony agreed. He’d place the documents under a sealed file, somewhere the kid wouldn’t accidentally find them. He wondered in Peter would ever be ready to see them. “I’ll make sure he won’t find them, but once you think he’s ready, I think it’d be best if you told him. He’d trust your word on the matter more than me, you knew his parents, after all.”

“I agree.”

Tony placed his own coffee cup down next to the other one, his mind full of all the things he’d need to do to make sure Peter wouldn’t find it, when May suddenly let out a small gasp, and stood up. He watched her confused as she hurried over to the small hall closet, and began diffing around. 

She pulled out a dusty, worn looking briefcase, and brought it over to where they’d been sitting. “This was Richard’s. It was in their car when they died… Ben and I never opened it, but I know it has some of his work things in it, they died on their way home from their office,”

Tony stood up and took the briefcase from her, and he was about to open it, when the apartment door opened, and Peter called out “May! I’m home!”

They glanced at each other, before Tony hid the case behind and, grabbed his jacket. “Hey honey! You’re back early today?” May called back, she made her way into the kitchen, and Tony followed her.

“Yeah, Ned’s mom was off today, she gave me a ride home after decathlon,” The teen explained, grabbing a bowl of chips. “Mr. Stark? What are you doing here?” 

Tony flashed a quick smile. “Just catching up with your aunt. Figured she’d appreciate me explaining the watch I made for her as opposed to Happy,”

Peter’s eyes went to the nearly identical watch on his aunt’s wrist before he nodded, and placed a chip in his mouth. “Are we still having our intern session today?”

Tony glanced at his watch, “I’m afraid I’ve got a meeting later that may take too long, but we can move it to tomorrow, if you want?”

“Sure, Ned and I can get started on our project for English, then,” The teen replied. Tony said his goodbyes, and made special sure to thank May for the coffee, before he made his way out of the building into the car he’d driven over in. He knew he should have probably had Happy drive him, but sometimes he just wanted to sit behind the wheel, and blast his radio. 

He wasn’t able to enjoy the ride back home, however. The briefcase sat on the seat behind him, and it burned a hole in his mind, he needed to know what was in it, yet, he felt that he wouldn’t like what he found.


	7. Chapter 7

There was a fly buzzing against the window. The sound was loud in the quiet classroom, and several students were glaring at that particular window as they flipped pages on their tests. Peter found himself completely unable to focus on his history exam. He was seated closest to the window, mostly because he liked being to see the weather, and he couldn’t help but look outside.

Of course, it wasn’t fully the fly’s fault he was distracted. He’d gotten a message from Tony earlier that morning, telling him that Iron Man was being called in for a mission. He was being sent to a suspected Hydra base in South Africa, and if discovered to be genuine, he, along with Black Widow and Vision would take it down.

It was stressful knowing his mentor was doing something super dangerous, and he was on edge, knowing at any moment the tower would receive an influx of Hydra files he’d need to decrypt. Happy would be picking him up after school to take him to the lab, but he wished he was there now, at the very least, he could create a new program to help sort the information, or something. Instead, he was stuck in third period history, and he had to finish his pop quiz.

Peter sighed, and turned back to his paper. He hated pop quizzes, mostly because he hated being unprepared. The clock on the wall showed that there was only a couple more minutes left of class. 

Hurriedly, he penciled in what he hoped were the correct answers. The bell rang right as he was standing up to turn it in. Flash stood up across from him, and made a big show of dropping his water bottle over Peter’s test. The water splashed over both his desk, and his backpack. 

“Whoops, sorry Penis,” Flash grinned, slinging his own backpack up over his shoulder. “Guess I’m a little clumsy today,”

He watched the bully leave before turning to his teacher. “Ma’am, Flash spilled his water over my quiz, “ He told her, holding up the soaked paper.

His teacher sighed before clearing a spot on her desk to place it. “Thank you, Peter. You can take it again afterschool, if you want,”

Peter simply nodded his thanks before carrying his dripping backpack out of the class, and to his locker. Luckily, he only had some plastic binders in his bag, and therefore nothing was ruined. From his locker he could see out the doors on the end of the hall. The day had started out sunny, but now, there were dark clouds brewing in the sky. He hoped May would be okay driving home from work. He always worried about people driving in the rain, mostly because his parents had died driving in a storm. He never liked the rain after that night.

He closed his locker perhaps a bit harder than he should have, but he didn’t care, he had too much on his mind. Peter noticed Ned making his way over, and felt a small bit of relief, his friend could always make him feel better. “Yo, did you hear about the new Star Trek movie?” He asked, throwing his hand out for the two of them to do their overly complicated handshake.

“What about it?” Peter gladly drowned out Neds voice as he talked about Star Trek. They walked to the cafeteria together, and soon, they were sitting at their usual table with Michelle, who was currently reading Of Mice and Men, which was one of their required books for English.

“Sup, nerds,” She greeted, turning the page. That was the most she ever really contributed to their conversations, but Peter could tell she enjoyed at least being considered part of their friend group. They were kind of outcasts, and outcasts stuck together. 

There was a slight rumble of thunder, he could hardly hear it over the loud noise of the other kids, but it was like his ears zeroed in on it. Ned seemed to notice Peter’s growing anxiety, and placed a hand on his arm. “You good, bro?”

Peter blinked a few times before nodding his head. “Yeah,” He muttered, sticking his fork in his school mac and cheese. School food never was very appetizing, but now, the very thought of eating it made him feel a bit sick. “Sorry, it’s the weather, and I got a text from Mr. Stark this morning,” This last part was said quietly, so as to make sure no one else heard. No one knew Iron Man was out of the country yet.

“He texts you? That’s so cool!” Ned interrupted.

“Yeah, well, I’ve just been stressed all day,”

“Maybe you could go see the nurse? They might let you go home early. I know you get…. Weird about stormy weather,”

Peter thought about it, and it wasn’t all that bad an idea. He could see if Happy would pick him up from home later, or even take him to the tower now instead of at the end of the day. Another deep rumble of thunder, this one much closer helped him make up his mind. “Yeah, I think I’m going to do that,” He answered, pulling his phone out to let May and Happy know what he was wanting to do. “You can have my mac and cheese if you want it,” He offered to Michelle, who muttered a thanks, sliding the tray over to her.

He said his goodbyes, and made his way down the hall to the nurses office. The nurse was a youngish guy who’d recently graduated, and needed some experience before going on to a better paying job. He replaced the really nice older lady who always gave kids candy. Peter knocked on the doorframe, peering in through the open door. Mr. Harris was sitting at his desk, eating a salad that smelled very strongly of vinegar. He looked up, and smiled. “Hello, how can I help you?”

“Um, I’m not really feeling well, I was wondering if I could get a pass to go home?” He answered, his voice cracking a bit. He hoped Mr. Harris wouldn’t make him stay, he could still faintly hear the thunder, despite being in the dead middle of the school. 

“What seems to be the problem?” The nurse asked, pulling up Peter’s medical profile. “Mr. Parker, yes?”

“Yes sir, I just don’t feel very well. I have anxiety about thunderstorms, and my stomach feels kind of queasy,”

Mr. Harris glanced through his file, taking note of his asthma, poor eyesight, and previous health related passes. Luckily, he hadn’t asked for many passes this semester. “Alright, as long as you have a ride home, I can write you a pass. The rain is supposed to hang around for a while,” 

Peter sighed in relief, promising him he wouldn’t try and walk home in the storm. He grabbed the pass and made his way to the entrance of the building where there were benches for students waiting on rides. There was a girl sitting at one of them, holding a tissue, and watching out the window for her ride. Peter sat on the other bench, his phone in hand. 

He texted Happy, and then May. He found himself feeling more anxious sitting at that bench than he did in the cafeteria. He was just about to resort to walking when he saw the usual black car pull into the pick up lane. He smiled at the girl, and walked out the door, his backpack over his head to shield from the rain. 

Happy eyed him somewhat suspiciously as he opened the door, and slid into the seat. There was a towel draped over the leather, and Peter made sure to sit on it. “You’re not contagious, are you, kid?” He asked.

Peter shook his head. “N-no, it’s nothing like that…” He answered, rubbing the back of his neck. His hair was wet, and it felt cool against his skin, he shivered a bit. “I just really don’t like the rain…”

Happy shrugged slightly, deciding to let the kid be a bit strange. “Well, alright then, if you’re not sick sick, then you can come to the tower with me, and get started on the data the Boss is sending back.” 

They pulled out away from the school, and Peter tried to not to let it show how excited he was to be going to the tower then, and not later, and helping with an Avenger level project. He also pretended not to notice that Happy had put the heater on for him in the back, nor the occasional glances back to make sure he wasn’t shivering anymore. By the time they pulled into the parking garage, Peter’s hair had dried completely, and he was anxious to get started on decoding the data.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps a bit shorter than usual, but I've been pretty busy. Next chapter will be the start of the major story, so be prepared!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I'm nearly done with the chapter after this one too, so expect another update in the next day or so! It's almost finals right now, so I've been cramming for the last couple of weeks.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The tower is dark, and far too quiet when Peter steps out of the elevator. He supposed Pepper must be in her office downstairs, and everyone else is doing whatever it is they do at eleven in the morning on a weekday. It’s the lack of Tony’s presence that makes everything feel alien to him. There’s nothing blaring through the speakers, no empty diet soda cans, and nothing on the television. 

Sighing, Peter dropped his backpack over the couch, and made his way to the lab. He walked past the few tables and settled himself in the little nook Tony kept all his computers. He had told him once that he liked the small space with all the screens and computers because he felt like a hacker in some spy movie every time he used them instead of Friday.

He steadily got to work, the information was trickling in a little at a time so as not to overload the systems and also so Friday could make sure they aren’t accidentally downloading any bugs. Peter nearly forgot about the thunderstorm, and had completely forgotten about the anxiety that had been gnawing at him since Tony told him he’d be fighting bad guys a whole hemisphere away. It was just him, the computer, and the data he had to decode.

Until there was a massive rumble of thunder, and the lights winked out. He nearly fell out of his seat in shock. He could still hear the phantom echo of it, booming in his ears. He turned to the computer in front of him, it was still on, despite the lack of power elsewhere in the building. Tony must have installed power backups, in case something like this ever happened, that way nothing would be disturbed.

He waited for the lights to come back on, but after a few moments, Peter began to feel a bit concerned. Surely the tower had power backups, right? He stood up, fishing his phone from his pocket and turning the flashlight on. He hoped he wouldn’t have to use the stairs, there were way too many, and with his asthma, he probably only make it a flight or two before having to stop.

“Friday?” He called out. There was no answer, the A.I. must not have a power back up either. He wondered if other buildings around the tower were out of power too. He made his way to the living room, where the massive ceiling to floor windows showed nearly all of New York. The storm was nasty outside, he could see the rain pelting both the tower, and other buildings. 

However, it was the sight of light spilling out of windows, and traffic lights at the street that made him stop. This wasn’t a city power outage, he wanted to slap himself, the tower had its own power reactor, built by Tony himself. Lightning wouldn’t knock the power out like this. He turned back to the lab, and using his flashlight, eyed around the box like room, it looked like it was lined with copper. Which was normally used when making a faraday cage.

Of course. Tony wasn’t stupid, he wouldn’t leave his computers unprotected. And his phone still worked because he had been in it. The power wasn’t out because of lightning, it was an EMP. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to figure out what to do. The tower was probably under attack, why else would an EMP go off? And when Tony wasn’t here either, that was too suspicious not to consider.

There was a rumble outside the lab, this one sounding like metal being kicked instead of thunder. He poked his head back out into the living room, and went pale upon seeing the doors to the elevator bending. Something was forcing them apart. Peter sighed harshly, of course this was happening to him. He brought his watch up to his face. “Karen, initiate emergency protocol, there’s some sort of attack on the tower,” He whispered to it. The watch let out a nearly silent beep, and then blinked three times, letting him know the message was being sent along. 

The intruders were probably here to get the information Tony was sending back. The upload had been paused since the power went out, Friday wasn’t receiving it, so hopefully Tony would see that something was going on.

He moved everything the computer had received, both decoded and not, and placed them under as many firewalls as he could create. He was about to add another one when the screens winked out. He swore slightly under his breath, the battery backups had died. He heard a metallic screech, and suddenly there were footsteps in the living room. He grabbed his phone in a panic, and with shaking hands he turned off the flashlight, and ducked under the computer desk. He stabbed his leg out blindly, and somehow was able to hook his foot around the desk chair. He pulled it up to block him better under the desk.

It was pitch black with out his phone and computer screens, and Peter hoped that he was well enough hidden that they wouldn’t see him. He pulled his knees up to his chin, and wrapped his arms around them so as to take as little space as possible, and then he waited.

Who ever had broken into the tower were being a bit overzealous in their searching of the top floor. They searched each and every room, and left the lab and other other rooms on this side to be checked last. He wondered what was taking them so long, and hoped that help would arrive before he was discovered. 

He realized suddenly that he had left his backpack sitting on the couch. They weren’t making sure that the floor was empty, they were probably searching for him, they had to know it belonged to someone other than Tony or Pepper, they didn't carry backpacks with the logo of a high school on it. He brought his watch up to lips and whispered another command to his A.I. “Karen, initiate disguise mode,” His watch let out a slight beep, and the face shifted around until it resembled a normal watch, and not a fancy, high tech one. “Tell someone they’re on this floor,” He knew there was probably no way for Karen to tell anyone where the intruders were, there weren’t any working devices, most likely in the whole building, but hopefully someone would get the message.

Taking in to account the protocol, the watch flashed a muted, faint green to show that it had received his command, then went back into disguise mode. He lowered his watch, and tried to scoot even further under the desk. 

He felt pure fear enter his body when the footsteps entered the lab.

\-----

Pepper was at her desk in her office when the power winked off. The thunder had caused her to jump, and not for the first time, she wondered why she decided for her her office to be so high up. The lights flickered out above her and she looked around confused. She clearly remembered Tony explaining to her the mechanics of having a building powered by an arc reactor, and their ability to keep running despite lightning was one of the few things he’d bragged about.

She stoop up from her seat and made eye contact with the secretary through her glass office doors. The young woman looked just as confused as she. Pepper went to open the door and check the other offices, when she heard heavy footsteps coming from the hall. No one on this floor wore heavy boots, and it was protocol to stay put if the power went out. 

The secretary turned, then quickly ducked under her desk, giving the CEO a look that told her enough. Something was going on. Taking a deep breath, Pepper grabbed her phone, and kicked her heels off. Then, she pulled the disguised lever on her bookshelf, and ducked into the panic room behind it.

She’d nearly passed out laughing when Tony suggested it. A hidden door behind a bookcase was just cheesy. But he explained that it was his father’s go-to security backup, and after a heartfelt speech over what ifs, she agreed to have it installed just in case. The room was pitch black, and after trying in vain to get her phone to work, she resigned herself to making her way in the dark.

She felt a stab of regret then. Here she was, safely making her way to another part of the building, and she had just left her secretary, and everyone else on the floor to fend for themselves. Should she turn back? Pepper pivoted on the spot for a moment, wondering which she should do, go back, and risk being captured or killed, or get somewhere safe? She had all the passwords, and information, making her a bigger target than the others. 

With her mind made up, she continued down the inky black hallway until another thought hit her. Peter. He was upstairs. Any intruders would be sure to find him. They could hurt him, or worse, figure out he was Spiderman and take him hostage. She bit her lip in thought. One side of the hallway branched off to stairs, the other led to a safe room. He was only on the floor above her… She could try and sneak him down with her, they’d be safe from the intruders.

Making her mind up yet again, Pepper began to feel her way to the door that led to the stairs. It was invisible in the stair way, and she silently celebrated when she found the doorknob with her fingers. She placed her ear to the door, and backed away, hoping she hadn’t made any noise. It sounded like the intruders were in the stairs as well. Damn. 

She had no choice but to wait it out, and hope the kid found a good hiding place.


End file.
